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Cardinals Acquire Matt Holliday

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2:10: The Cards officially announced the trade, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.

11:39am: Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch says there's been no talk of an extension for Holliday. As Tim asks on MLBTR's Twitter, "when has a Boras client foregone free agency two months out to take a discount?"

11:16am: ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the deal is complete. The A's will contribute $1.5MM to the remainder of Holliday's salary, which leaves the Cards with about $4.5MM.

11:11am: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch says the teams are reviewing the players' medical records. The deal will go through unless they encounter an unexpected medical issue.

11:07am: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears the deal will go down. A source tells Price the sides are "finalizing as we speak."

10:58am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the deal is "very close" to completion. 

10:21am: The Cardinals are close to acquiring Matt Holliday from the A's for Brett Wallace and two other players, according to ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian. Outfielder Shane Peterson and righty Clayton Mortensen are also headed to Oakland if the deal goes through.

It's unclear who would pay Holliday the remaining $6MM on his contract should the teams complete a trade.

Odds And Ends: Wang, Maine, Scutaro

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Some links to read through as the trading heats up…

Cards & A’s Discussing Holliday For Wallace

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6:18pm: Ken Rosenthal calls the Cards' interest "mild, for now." However, Jon Heyman has a few updates on the proceedings–as noted in the past, Cards manager Tony La Russa is said to "badly" want Holliday. Heyman also reports that the Cardinals might want the A's to pay a portion of the $1.8MM bonus Wallace received after the 2008 draft.

3:41pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Cards are "seriously pursuing" Holliday, possibly for Wallace. The Tigers are also in the mix for Holliday.

12:55pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Cards and A's are indeed discussing a possible Wallace for Holliday trade. One of Olney's sources says the odds of a deal are 50-50. The Cardinals ownership may be prepared to take on salary, or the A's may pay a portion of Holliday's contract to obtain a better return.

10:00am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the Cardinals might be readying themselves to part with prospect Brett Wallace for Matt Holliday. The Cardinals need a bat to protect Albert Pujols and Holliday has a .310/.416/.492 line since May 5th despite a well-documented drop in power. He's walked 41 times in that span and continues to play above average defense in left field.

Holliday makes $13.5MM this year and will likely be a Type A free agent after the season. Wallace is a top prospect, playing in the upper minors with an OPS over .800 in his first full season of pro ball. Washington outfielder Josh Willingham is an option for the Cards in case Holliday costs too much money and too many prospects.

Heyman On Halladay, Francoeur, Brewers

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Jon Heyman of SI.com hears the Blue Jays have told the Yankees and Red Sox they're unlikely to trade Roy Halladay within the AL East and haven't even returned a call the Yankees placed about Halladay over a week ago. That leaves the Phillies and, now, the Dodgers as frontrunners to acquire the Jays ace. Here are the details and a few stray rumors:

  • One executive believes that any Blue Jays-Phillies swap would have to begin with the supposedly untouchable Kyle Drabek, who impressed in this week's Futures Game.
  • At least one exec believes the Jays would want to pluck a player from the Dodgers major league roster in any deal.
  • The Dodgers don't necessarily have enough minor league talent to tempt the Jays.
  • One Jays person said Cardinals top prospect Brett Wallace may not be enough to acquire Doc. 
  • The Jays are not insisting that teams take on the Vernon Wells contract in a potential deal. 
  • The Yankees and Red Sox have become more protective of their minor leaguers, so they're not likely to overwhelm the Jays with offers.  
  • The Yankees tried to trade for Jeff Francoeur last offseason. 
  • The Brewers could still make a run for a star pitcher. 
  • As SI writer Tom Verducci notes, the Dodgers would like to acquire a top reliever such as Chad Qualls or George Sherrill.

Rosenthal On Halladay, Frasor, Rios, Bay

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Angels and Cardinals will have a hard time assembling a package enticing enough for the Blue Jays to part with Roy Halladay. One GM said the Angels have "zero chance" at acquiring the Jays ace. Players like Brandon Wood and Howie Kendrick have lost some of their appeal and prospect Jordan Walden finds himself on the DL for the second time this season.

Halladay would be a good fit in St. Louis, and Brett Wallace could be the centerpiece of a deal, but the Cards may not have the young pitching the Jays seek.

The Phillies have enough prospects to make a deal and Rosenthal suggests we should never rule out the Yankees. Here are a few more rumors:
  • The Dodgers are interested in Halladay, Jason Frasor and George Sherrill.
  • The White Sox would probably have to part with Gordon Beckham to acquire Doc. 
  • The Jays and White Sox haven't discussed an Alex Rios deal recently, but the White Sox have long been interested in the Jays outfielder.  
  • Jason Bay is close to setting a cutoff date for negotiations on an extension with the Red Sox.  

Heyman On Deadline Deals

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Jon Heyman of SI.com believes Roy Halladay will be traded before the end of the month. Here are some teams that could pursue him:

  • The Phillies have the right combination of money, prospects and need to go after Doc.
  • The Rangers probably don't have the money to take on the $14.25MM Halladay makes this year.  
  • It's hard to see the White Sox obtaining Halladay without surrendering Gordon Beckham in the deal. 
  • Heyman considers Beckham as close to untouchable as it gets, along with Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Brett Wallace and others.

Heyman lists over 30 trade candidates; here are some highlights:

  • The A's may have to hold onto Matt Holliday and hope for a pair of high draft picks after the season, as Holliday's shown little power recently.
  • The D'Backs aren't impressed by what the Brewers are willing to give up for Doug Davis, so they may try to keep him in Arizona.
  • The offers for Chad Qualls may be too tempting for the D'Backs to ignore.  
  • "Teams will call" about Cliff Lee.  
  • Jose Valverde would be a trade candidate but for one thing: "the 'Stros don't like to sell."

And finally, a note on Pedro Martinez: 

  • Pedro should decide on his future soon. The Phillies are the favorites, followed by the Rangers.  

Gammons’ Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa

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In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny.

Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors:

  • Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded.
  • Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries.
  • Jarrod Washburn could be had.
  • The Red Sox have talked to the Angels about infielder Maicer Izturis, but the talks haven't gone anywhere
  • Mark Mulder "made considerable progress refinding his delivery after one session with pitching coach Rick Peterson."
  • The Mets are looking for an outfield bat. They made a run at Mark DeRosa, but wouldn't discuss Bobby Parnell.
  • The Cardinals wouldn't discuss Jason Motte or Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa.
  • The uncertain situation surrounding the Cubs' ownership will likely prohibit any major additions.

Olney on Reyes, McLouth, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney wonders if the currently injured Jose Reyes has already peaked, quoting a scout who says "I don't see a lot of evolution there … Jimmy Rollins struggled early in his career, but then he just kept getting better and better, and I'm not really seeing that in Reyes." Olney likens the situation to Mark Prior's, who seemingly held the Cubs hostage with his potential. Reyes will turn just 26 next week, but Olney says that going forward "the Mets should not assume that Reyes is going to be an unmovable foundation piece," however he is not advocating a trade just yet.

Here's the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Olney heard that the Pirates were concerned about Nate McLouth's defensive abilities, so they moved him now before his trade value diminished.
  • Billy Beane will soon have to make a decision about whether or not he should trade Matt Holliday, because other teams will start inquiring soon.
  • Olney speculates that the Cardinals could be interested in Holliday, which would satisfy Tony LaRussa's desire for a big bat. He also says that Cards' prospect Brett Wallace would be a good fit for Oakland, but that seems like a hefty price for just three or four months of Holliday.

Cardinals Waiting For Glaus, Could Deal Later

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According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Cardinals are waiting to see how much Troy Glaus can contribute to the team before deciding whether to deal for a third baseman or rely on the current roster. Brian Barden, Tyler Greene, Brendan Ryan and Joe Thurston are all options for the Cards at third. Brett Wallace, last year's first round draft pick, just started at Triple A and isn't about to be called up soon.

GM John Mozeliak says the team won't look to make a trade until Glaus's future is more certain. However, if Glaus won't be able to contribute, Mozeliak says he has the chips to make a deal.

"Do we have the resources to do it? I think we do."

Cardinals officials were mum on the possibility of acquiring Mark DeRosa from the Indians.

Odds and Ends: Phillips, Chacon, Hewitt, Griffey

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Random links for Tuesday. 

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